Gaining her Trust
by YuGiOhRox
Summary: Birthday fic for lemerly. Mai is struggling to deal with her memories, who will come to help her through it?


**Stealing her Heart**

**I've not tried anything like this before, and I spend more time thinking about other characters, so I'm sorry if it's stupid and if the characters are silly or out of character.**

Mai was walking to her car; she'd just popped into the Kame Game shop to see Yugi and the others. She was glad to know that they were all in happy relationships. Tristan and Duke were going steady, they seemed to be rushing into the relationship a bit, as they'd started making out on the couch and Mai was worried that they wouldn't last long. Téa had reassured her that they weren't the sort of people to take things slow. Duke, as everyone knew, was too much of a ladies man and could get bored in relationships easily if there wasn't something worth waiting for, and Tristan was desperate to keep his partner around after so much time alone, with only himself as comfort.

Yami and Yugi were dating and they were taking each step slowly so the relationship wouldn't fall apart. It was clear to Mai that they loved each other greatly and she couldn't help but be a little jealous, she'd always been a loner and as such had always been alone. She longed for someone to love her as all of her friends were loved.

Téa had revealed that she and Serenity were trying long distance; Joey had been a little shocked to find out about those two and after the initial, "Téa, if you hurt my sister, I will conveniently forget that we've been friends for a very long time, and I shall kill you!" he dropped the act and showed everyone how happy he was that his little sister and his friend had found someone. Mai had giggled at his reactions, he was always so cute! He was the little brother she'd never had but always wanted.

Ryou and Bakura were trying to keep their relationship hidden, but with a few flirty winks and seductive smiles from Mai, he'd turned bright red and blurted out every little secret about his and Bakura's partnership. Yugi had turned bright red and Yami was a little flustered. Téa fainted and the rest of them had either tried to hide their giggles or had burst out laughing. Mai knew that they were all lucky that Bakura hadn't wanted to hang out with the 'geek squad' and wasn't there to witness. Ryou was too nice to say anything so they weren't going to get their souls shipped off to the Shadow Realm any time soon.

The couple that had surprised Mai the most was that Joey was with _Kaiba_! She had never expected that and she was very thankful that Kaiba had declined the invitation to come and see Mai and the rest of the 'geek squad.' She'd really mouthed off at Joey, calling him a little bit crazy and yelling that he should be with her. He'd seen right through the act though and had just burst out laughing. She'd joined in and the others just had to stay there and wonder what the hell Joey and Mai were laughing about.

Mai got in her car and put the keys in the ignition. She was about to set off and head to a hotel when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned off the engine and got out to run over to him. "Valon! Over here it's me, Mai! Wait up!"

Valon turned his head and Mai's beautiful amethyst eyes locked with his dazzling blue.

"Mai?! It's really you! I've missed you." Mai felt herself blush deeply, and was ever so glad that Valon was still staring into her eyes instead of looking at her face.

"I've missed you too Valon. You were so good to me back… back then." Mai may have been able to face her friends again after the Dartz incident, but talking with someone who was so closely linked to that man was slightly uncomfortable. She'd ran into Alister sometime this year and it had been horrible talking with him, he'd found his little brother and Mai got first-hand knowledge that Mikey was a little sweetie, even if he'd grown up a lot from what Alister used to say about him. Raphael had been the same to talk to, awkward. He'd located his family too and they were pleasant people.

Mai had been happy that they were with their loved ones again, but meeting them and conversing was horrid. It brought back the bad memories of everything she'd done then and she hated it. Talking to Valon wasn't like that though, he wasn't Dartz's minion to her, he was just… Valon.

"You got caught up in the wrong business Mai, how could I do anything else? It's my fault that you were stuck in that mess anyway; I'm the one who convinced you to join Dartz and abandon your life for power."

"Don't blame yourself Valon! I chose to go with you, so it stands to reason that it's my entire fault." Mai glared fiercely into Valon's eyes and saw him blush faintly. He'd always claimed to have feelings for her, could it be true?

Valon coughed and pulled back a bit, embarrassed and Mai realized how close she'd gotten. She stared at her feet uncomfortably for a while and turned to leave when she felt Valon grab her arm. She turned again, to look at him, shocked, and noticed that he was blushing and his eyes showed he was nervous.

"Uh sorry Mai. I really have been lonely this past year and it's nice talking to you. Would you meet up with me sometime to talk and get some coffee?" He released her arm and crossed his arms behind his head to try and mask how nervous he was. Mai smiled and couldn't help but think that he was adorable when he tried to act tough. She blinked confusedly at what she had thought and turned her head down to the ground, what was with her? She was acting just like a schoolgirl with a crush!

Valon caught the look and jumped to the conclusion that Mai was rejecting him. He dropped his arms and he drooped disappointedly. Mai looked at up and mentally cooed over how much of a cute little puppy he looked like right now.

"Valon." Said man looked up at her with kicked puppy eyes. "First things first, drop the innocent act. I know you well enough that you are never this cutesy." Valon stopped playing pretend and his blue eyes started shining with mischief and the promise of a good time. Mai smiled. "Second thing is I would really like to meet up with you for coffee later."

Valon perked up and smiled at her gently. "Really? When's a good time for you Mai? I'll come meet you and we can go then."

Mai winked at him. "Why wait? I'm thirsty now and the idea's still fresh. You think you can handle me Valon?"

Valon growled at the challenge and smirked. "Mai a better question is can you handle _me_?" He held out his arm like a gentleman escorting a lady to a ballroom dance.

She linked her arm through his and copied his smirk. "Well it looks like we're about to find out. Lead the way, you can choose where we go." Valon smiled and started guiding her through the city.

*/*\*

They ended up at a tearoom where Mai discovered that they served the tastiest pastries ever! She had a pain au chocolat and a latte. Valon had black coffee and just some toast; they were joking about each other's lives. Valon made a crack at Mai's explanation of her previous boyfriend, only to cover up the stabbing pain in his heart when she said that she missed him.

Likewise, Mai made a little bit of fun of Valon when he said that he'd only ever loved one person. She would deny the strange feeling she got when he'd said that, it was almost envious.

"So how have you been Mai?" Valon stopped joking and turned very serious, which Mai thought was a little strange for him. She smiled and said that she was fine.

"You know, I have already answered that question? Why ask it again?" She smiled at him confusedly and tilted her head. She had a bad feeling –

"That's not what I mean and you _must_ know it. Mai all of us got pretty messed up back then, so I'll ask again, how are you? _Really_?"

- That he was going to say something like that. Mai shook a little at the memories, remembering what she did to Joey, her best friend. A tear slipped out of her eye and she whined childishly.

"Valon, please. Let's not do this here? I am _not_ going to have a breakdown in public." She looked at Valon and he gaped privately at how beautiful Mai was when she cried.

"Course Mai, I already have what I need to know. You ready to go?" Mai took the final bite of her pastry and swallowed the last bit of her drink. She nodded and Valon stood up, offering her his arm. She didn't take it, refusing to look at him as she stormed up to the counter to pay. Valon gave the girl his money also and followed Mai as she hurried out of the tearoom.

"Mai!" He ran faster to catch up to her as she ignored him. "Mai! Wait up, please!" She finally turned around to face him, floods of tears running down her face.

"Leave me alone! I can't deal with this right now!"

"Mai…"

"Valon please, just -" He interrupted her with a chaste kiss, and when he pulled away, she blushed lightly. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he made her blush, she tried to spin it, so that she flushed from anger.

"What the hell was that for?! You just kissed me!?"

"Yes. I kissed you Mai because I need to talk to you, and you won't want anyone else to hear what I have to say. Come with me, please?" Mai weighed her options and nodded, agreeing to go with him. If he did something that she didn't want to participate in, she could always leave.

Valon had taken her to his apartment, everything was packed away in boxes and Mai assumed he'd either jut moved here to Domino, or he was planning to leave. That thought didn't sit well with Mai, Valon was great to her. It seemed like he actually cared, he'd duelled against Joey to try and save her, and she didn't want him to disappear from her life. He was sitting down on the couch, completely laid back.

"Mai… come sit next to me?" Valon patted a spot beside him on the sofa and she sat, but stayed a fair distance away from him in case he tried something like that kiss again.

"Please Valon, don't waste my time. What do you want me to say?"

"The truth, you have to remember everything you did for Dartz Mai. I know it hurts, but if you don't want it to change who you are, you have to take those memories and get over them. You're Mai Valentine, so you just have to do what you always do."

"And what is that I always do Valon?" Mai felt Valon grab her chin and tilt her head back to meet with his eyes again. He smirked and Mai internally sighed, that was a cute expression on him.

"You kick butt. You never let anything get in the way of coming out on top."

"But I can't face them. Earlier I couldn't even look Joey in the eyes! I'm scared to remember all of that Valon."

"That's not what's scaring you Mai, it's because you've been alone so long that when you had people around you that cared, you didn't want to let go. Take my hand Mai, and you won't be alone when you face those memories." She hesitated, but found the chance to hold Valon's outstretched hand too tempting.

He pulled her into a hug and they stayed there for a while before Mai whispered something into Valon's chest. "Hmm? What was that Mai?"

"I said I'm not scared anymore. I think I can do this, but I need you to help me." Mai implored him to help with her eyes, using her beauty and his care for her to sway him into helping. It didn't take long before he nodded and held her tighter.

They fell asleep in each other's arms and woke simultaneously the next morning. Valon smiled at Mai sleepily and it was returned. He left to go to the bathroom and take care of some business while Mai found her way to his kitchen. She was glad to see that there was a lot of food, stacking up in the cupboards; it meant that Valon was here to stay, at least for a little while. She made cheese omelettes and dumped them on some toast before placing the food on some plates for them.

Valon came out of the bathroom and smelled the breakfast. Good thing he hadn't brushed his teeth yet, there wouldn't have been a point. They sat down at a table and ate in silence, still a bit too tired to try striking up a conversation.

"Mai," Valon tried while they were washing up the plates. "I know that you haven't gotten over everything in one night. Would you stay here with me so I can be there to help you out? I won't ever try anything, unless you want me to."

"Thank you Valon, I'd love to stay. I don't deserve a friend as great as you."

"No Mai, you deserve a whole lot more." He hugged her again and there life went on from that.

Over the span of two years, Mai got over everything that had happened with the whole Dartz incident and she and Valon grew closer. They met up with the group at the game shop like how Mai had when this started, Bakura and Kaiba still not showing up and Serenity staying at home with Téa due to illness.

Ryou was complaining about Bakura's stealing habits and though everyone else was laughing Mai and Valon only smiled in amusement.

She whispered to her boyfriend, "You know, you're a bit of a thief too?"

"How come?" Valon whispered back, curious as to what his girlfriend was up to.

"Because you stole my heart." She said this loud enough for everyone to hear before she yanked him down to her and kissed him deeply. Valon's eyes widened in shock before closing and pulling her closer to his body. Everyone turned their heads towards the couple and awed, it was too hard not to.

**Sorry that this is so bad, I'm new to this couple.**


End file.
